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Last Thursday, I posted a blog about “passing the trash,” a practice known within the educational system in which teachers who’ve allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct with a student resign and leave their school districts in exchange for confidentiality about their behavior. I received many comments about that story, but this is one I want to share with you. I’ve kept the writer’s name confidential:

Dr. Laura, as a former administrator of a small school district, let me tell you who the real villains are in these cases. No school administration will admit it, but it’s the teacher’s union. It’s like going up against the mob, to come against one of their members. And they don’t care if their member is guilty or not. They will use every tactic in the book to intimidate you into dropping your complaint. Any time an administration tries to discipline teachers or even look into a complaint, the union is there fighting the administration. They file lawsuits and nit pick at your procedures. The teachers have free counsel and unlimited representation, covered by their dues. Just to inquire into a complaint, the school [incurs] a great deal of cost, precious money that has to be taken from some other program or someone else’s pocket.

These types of complaints are the duty of the school board, and school boards are made up of volunteers – they don’t get paid, but they can get sued, and must defend themselves with their own money. It is a fight to correct an untenured teacher, and in fact, there is no way to fire or discipline a tenured one.

We had a horrid teacher (and many complaints), and we tried everything under the sun to get him away from kids. He had his ego stroked by being mean to kids. We tried to pay him off and offer him early retirement, but he wouldn’t go. We were a small district with limited funds. Eventually, the school had to close, and the man finally lost his job. And no one around would hire him. Our teacher was not a molester, but he was a “demeaner” – he enjoyed insulting kids.

Although I do not agree with what these schools have done, I am not surprised. If you have no proof that would hold up in court and kids who don’t want to officially testify, but you know in your heart that this person has done these things, the teacher’s union will spread [the word] that your school district is being very unfair to the teachers, and…will turn the hearing into a circus. As parents and board members, you will do whatever it takes to get them out of your school – and hopefully, away from kids.

Brace yourselves for this one: The Oregonian on February 18 exposed a demonic deal made in 2004 between the Salem-Keizer Public Schools and a teacher. Here’s the deal: if the teacher resigned, they would conceal his alleged conduct (touching and grabbing butts) from the public. Moreover, they promised not to reveal the teacher’s behavior if potential employers called looking for a reference. They would attribute his departure to personal reasons and make no reference to the agreement.

“During the past five years, nearly half of Oregon teachers disciplined for sexual misconduct with a child left their school districts with confidential agreements…. Some promised cash settlements, health insurance, and letters of recommendation as incentives for a resignation.

The practice is so widespread, school officials across the country call it ‘passing the trash.’”

I think school systems around the country should be examined to ensure this “trash passing” isn’t happening in your area. Also, every parent has a moral obligation to every other parent and child to report such abuse to the police – in spite of embarrassment – so that these worms will be forced above ground. And by “worms,” I don’t just mean the molesters. I mean the administrations that would clean up their yards by dumping trash in another’s yard and put unsuspecting children at risk.

When a woman wishes to diminish her own value (as well as that of the covenant of marriage) by cohabitating with a man who is not willing to make the vow of committing his life to her, it’s a shame. When a woman with children does so, it too often becomes a crime.

Thirty years ago, nearly 80% of America’s children lived with both their Mommy and Daddy, who were married. Now, only two-thirds of them do. Of all families with children, nearly 30% are now one-parent families, up from 17% in 1977. The net result is instability, neglect, and the likelihood that children will be in homes with adults who have no biological tie to them. Continue reading →